Blue Train

A classic overnight rail cruise linking the highveld to the Atlantic, with a relaxed pace and highly curated service.

Journey Time: About 2 days, usually with one overnight on board. The schedule can vary by departure date.

Best Time to Go: The train runs year round, but many travellers prefer the cooler, drier months for comfortable temperatures and clearer views across the interior.

Tickets & Costs: This is premium, all inclusive rail travel and is priced accordingly. Fares vary a lot by season and suite type, so check the official booking engine for your dates.

Classes: Suites are generally sold as Deluxe and Luxury, both with en suite bathrooms. Space, bathroom layout and inclusions can differ by category.

Boarding: Board in Pretoria at Pretoria Railway Station for the southbound run, and in Cape Town at Cape Town railway station for the northbound run. Arrive early enough for check in procedures and luggage handling.

The Blue Train is designed as a flagship service rather than a simple intercity run, with the emphasis on privacy, formal dining and attentive staff. It has long been positioned as one of Africa’s best known luxury trains, turning an otherwise flight length journey into a slow, celebratory crossing of the country.

Much of the route traverses the broad interior plateau and then drops towards the southwest, delivering a sense of scale you cannot get from the air. The most memorable moments are often between towns: long straight track, distant koppies, and the gradual shift from highveld grasslands to the semi desert vastness of the Karoo.

• Pretoria - Depart the administrative capital on the highveld. Early views are suburban edges giving way to open farmland.
• Gauteng to Free State - Watch the landscape flatten into big sky country. For long stretches, either side of the train offers similar wide angle views.
• Kimberley - A scheduled stop is often made here. If included on your departure, look for the historic diamond mining legacy around the Big Hole.
• Northern Cape rail plains - The train rolls through immense, sparsely populated country. Expect long horizons, remote sidings and dramatic light at sunrise and sunset.
• Karoo (towards Beaufort West) - This is the signature interior section: semi desert vegetation, isolated farmsteads and far off ridgelines. Try to be in the lounge during golden hour.
• Matjiesfontein - Some itineraries pause at this tiny Victorian era rail settlement. The station area can feel like stepping into a preserved chapter of South African rail history.
• Cape Winelands approach - Nearing the southwest, the scenery becomes greener and more folded, with mountain backdrops as you run towards the coast.
• Cape Town - Arrival is typically at the central station, with Table Mountain often visible as you roll in depending on weather.

The Blue Train operates throughout the year, but the most comfortable window for many travellers is the Southern Hemisphere winter and shoulder seasons, when the interior is cooler and the air often feels clearer across the open plains and the Karoo. Summer can bring higher heat inland, which changes how much time you will want to spend on the open observation areas at stops.

For scenery, prioritise departures that give you maximum daylight across the interior sections, as much of the route’s drama is in the slow transitions rather than a single landmark. Timetables can shift by date, so check your specific departure to see how much of the run falls in daylight.

In Pretoria, the boarding point is central and reachable from Johannesburg and O. R. Tambo International Airport by road transfer, Gautrain connections (for parts of the corridor), or hotel arranged transport. In Cape Town, the end station sits in the city centre with easy onward travel to the V&A Waterfront area and the wider metro.

This is sold as a point to point experience rather than a hop on hop off service. Stopovers along the way are typically not how the journey is structured, so plan to ride it straight through and build extra nights in Pretoria or Cape Town if you want to explore.

Tickets are sold per suite and are generally all inclusive on board, with accommodation, dining and hosted off train visits on certain departures. Book as far ahead as you can if you are travelling in peak periods or if you want a particular suite category, as there are limited cabins.

If you are comparing with standard rail in South Africa, note that this is a luxury product and is not priced like regular intercity trains. Seat reservations are inherent in the booking because your suite is assigned, and mainstream rail passes are usually not the way this service is sold.